PRN 56734 The medieval church at Riseholme is referenced from the early 13th century in documents held by the Bishop of Lincoln. {1} The advowson of Riseholme church had already been granted to Lessay Abbey, in Normandy, in 1126 by Robert de Haya. {2} Although there is evidence for population decline in the village of Riseholme from the 14th century (see PRN 54196) the church continued to be maintained. Rectors of Riseholme Church were presented to the Bishop through the Middle Ages. As late as 1519 the diocesan visitation of the parish reported that all was well, which would indicate that there were no major works needed on the church fabric at that time. {3} By the late 16th century, however, the Church of St Mary was seriously at risk of collapse and in the early 17th century was a ruin. In 1602 the church was reported to be 'utterly ruinated' as was the chancel and all the bells, ornaments and books. There was little chance of rebuilding the church because there was only one parishioner, although the parson was willing to rebuild the chancel once the church has been rebuilt. In 1603 the parson reported that there were 12 communicants. {4} By the early 18th century the diocesan census return provides the name of the incumbent, Jeremiah Milles, but there was no church and no rectory. {5} The medieval church was in a poor state by the end of the 16th century: the 12 communicants of 1603 are matched by the reports of 1602 that 'the whole towne savinge one house is ruinated and down' and that the medieval church of St Mary was 'utterly ruinated'. As late as the 1550s the church was the object of bequests and a place of burial. A glebe terrier of 1601 records 'only the churchyard and no church'. Twenty years later Nettleham parish registers record the burial there of Riseholme inhabitants. The diocesan survey at the beginning of the 18th century confirms that the living was a sinecure with no church. The 1601 terrier shows the site of the medieval church to the north of the Nettleham Beck. The church probably lay just to the west of the present church since it is alleged that recognition of its location guided Bishop Kaye in siting his new church to its east (see PRN52339). The late 15th century grave slab that identified the churchyard at that time still exists on the site in the copse west of the church. {6}